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Zebra 3 Report by Joe Anybody
Wednesday, 9 June 2010
Racism and US policy - The anti racists activists are only hope left for Amreica
Mood:
 down
Now Playing: The myth of the anti-immigrant majority
Topic: IMMIGRATION
The myth of the anti-immigrant majoritySupporters of immigrant rights can make a difference by organizing and activism. June 9, 2010 http://socialistworker.org/2010/06/09/myth-of-the-anti-immigrant-majority  ALL IT took was one glance at the headline of the Pew Research Center poll released last month--"Broad Approval for New Arizona Immigration Law"--and the mainstream media had a new storyline ever since about the state's latest anti-immigrant attack. Sure, SB 1070 enshrined racial profiling into state law. Taken together with Arizona's ban on ethnic studies programs, yes, it did seem like a throwback to the era of Jim Crow segregation. But what does that matter as long as SB 1070 is "broadly" popular? The "American people" are okay with racism. End of story. It's up to opponents of anti-immigrant bigotry to make sure that isn't the end of the story. The survey results from Pew and other pollsters do reflect broad public sentiment in favor of immigration law enforcement. But there are a lot of contradictions in that sentiment if you examine what people actually tell the pollsters. And more importantly, supporters of immigrant rights have the opportunity to reshape the supposed consensus on this issue--but only if we organize an energetic campaign to counter the anti-immigrant lies and make our case to a wider audience. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - THE PEW Center poll may have surprised supporters of immigrant rights, especially coming in the wake of the immediate activist response to Arizona's racist law. According to the survey, 59 percent of people nationally approved of SB 1070. Only 32 percent disapproved. Nearly three in four respondents agreed with the core provision of the law--requiring people to have documents verifying their immigration status when asked by a law enforcement official acting on "reasonable suspicion." These findings are similar to other polls, both specifically about SB 1070 and on the question of enforcement. But a closer look at the results undermines the media conclusion that people in the U.S. "broadly" support the policies pushed by the anti-immigrant right. For one thing, there's a substantial generation gap in attitudes about the Arizona law and immigration policy generally, with people under 30 opposing SB 1070 in greater numbers. And, of course, Latinos, who have the most experience with the consequences of anti-immigrant criminalization and discrimination, oppose SB 1070 by a strong majority. The polarization is particularly sharp in Arizona as a result of the interplay of these two factors. According to William Frey of the Brookings Institution, Arizona has the country's largest "cultural generation gap"--between older Americans who are mostly white (83 percent) and children under 18 who are increasingly members of minorities (57 percent). What's more, among people who say they support SB 1070, the picture is more mixed than the headlines let on. Numerous surveys show that only a small minority--roughly one in five Americans--agrees with the right wing's preferred "solution" of criminalization and deportation of the 12 million undocumented people in the U.S. By contrast, an overwhelming majority of people say they would like to see national immigration reform legislation, including a "path to citizenship" for the undocumented--a proposal that the anti-immigrant right rejects outright. For example, in an America's Voice Education Fund poll, five out of six people who said they support SB 1070 also said they back comprehensive reform. Obviously, there's a contradiction in this. The harsh enforcement mechanisms that many people say they support alongside "reform" are the prelude to the criminalization and deportation policies they say they oppose. Immigration crackdowns are not only a violation of basic human rights, but they undermine the possibility of a genuine "path to legalization." The reason these contradictory ideas can coexist in many people's heads is because the right wing has been able dominate and disorient the debate on immigration in national politics. The right's hysteria about a "crisis of illegal immigration" today is opportunistic. In reality, there were more undocumented immigrants coming into the U.S. five years ago and getting low-wage jobs. The debate has sharpened today because the Great Recession opened the way for the right to package its bigotry in a campaign of scapegoating immigrants for the crisis. The small minority of people opposed to immigrant rights in any form has an influence far beyond its small size because, first of all, it gets outsized access to the media--but also because the right wing makes its case without qualifications or hedging. On the other hand, genuine champions of immigrant rights--people who would make the case for legalization without punitive enforcement policies--aren't actually represented in the national debate. Instead, the "left" end of the mainstream political spectrum is occupied by the Democrats, who have given ground to the right at every step. Consider how Barack Obama and his administration responded to the passage of SB 1070. When it was signed by Gov. Jan Brewer at the end of April, Obama criticized the law for undermining "basic notions of fairness." Administration officials promised that the Justice Department would consider taking federal action against it, which could lead to a court injunction before SB 1070 goes into effect at the end of July. At the same time, however, Obama said he sympathized with what he called "frustrations" with the current immigration system that produced SB 1070. Standing next to Mexico's conservative President Felipe Calderón during a state visit last month, for example, Obama was the more cautious of the two, insisting that the solution to laws like SB 1070 was federal legislation with a "path to citizenship," but also toughened enforcement and punishment for both undocumented workers and businesses that hire them. Then, just a few days before the May 29 national day of action against SB 1070, Obama took a page out of George W. Bush's playbook and announced he was sending 1,200 National Guard troops to the Southwest--the lion's share destined for Arizona--for a renewed border crackdown. That was good enough for Jan Brewer. She declared after a meeting at the White House that she and Obama were working together to tighten border security. The effect of Obama's qualified criticisms and actions has been to signal opposition to the letter of SB 1070, but to confirm the claims of the law's supporters that there is a "crisis of illegal immigration" about which the federal government can't or won't do anything. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - MAINSTREAM IMMIGRANT rights groups have signaled their disappointment in Obama's ramped-up enforcement and inaction on reform legislation. These groups had greeted Obama's victory as a signal that their voices would finally be heard in Washington. But immigrant rights advocates, however well connected to the party establishment, aren't foremost in shaping the Democrats' position on immigration. Corporate America is. Ever since the right wing's Sensenbrenner bill--which would have criminalized all 12 million undocumented immigrants, along with anyone who aided them--was pushed back by the pro-immigrant mega-marches of spring 2006, Democrats leaders have supported a series of pro-corporate immigration proposals masquerading as compassionate compromises. The latest of these--the bipartisan "framework" for legislation from Sens. Charles Schumer and Lindsey Graham--is the worst yet. It proposes a highly restrictive "path to citizenship" that ties the undocumented to employers through a guest worker program and requires them to pay fines and perform "community service," with the threat of deportation for even minor violations of the law still hanging over them. And that's not to mention the sops to the right wing in the proposal--a national biometric ID card and, inevitably, more money and personnel for border enforcement. These proposals don't reflect the interests of immigrants--but they do reflect the interests of Corporate America. U.S. businesses of all kinds depend on being able to employ immigrant workers at low wages, so they don't want to see the anti-immigrant right succeed with its full program. But they also depend, in order to keep those wages low, on immigrants being denied full legal rights, including the right to organize unions. This two-faced position can be seen throughout U.S. history and the history of other counties. All other things being equal, capitalists support the free movement across borders of every commodity but one--human labor. They seek to use the undocumented twice over--as workers who can be super-exploited because they have no legal rights, and as a group that can be pitted against other workers, whether native-born or immigrants themselves, to push down the wages of everybody. In other words, Corporate America needs an immigration system that secures its access to cheap labor, but that also continues to consign immigrants to second-class citizenship--just what Schumer-Graham does. And this is what passes in national politics for the "liberal" position on immigration. As a consequence, the case for legalization without punishing the undocumented and without tighter border controls never gets heard. The contradictory public sentiment on immigration is the product of a national political debate that is taking place not between left and right, but between the center and a bigoted right-wing fringe. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - THE ANSWER to polls that show public sentiment against equality for immigrants--however shallow and mixed that sentiment may be--can't be to wait for the Democrats to take a stand or do the right thing. Democratic Party politicians are, by nature, cowards. They hate taking a controversial position that might lose them votes. Compromise and concession are second nature to them--which is why the Democrats are uniquely qualified to serve Corporate America on an issue where it needs to steer between the fanatics of the right and the legitimate demands of immigrants. It's up to immigrants themselves and everyone who supports social justice to take that stand, loud and proud. We need to apply pressure from below to counter the relentless pressure on politicians from above. Our movement needs to become a pole of attraction on the issue of immigration, so the debate isn't between the center and the right, but our side against theirs. Such a movement can take heart when Obama and the Democrats feel compelled to criticize SB 1070 and even take legal action against it. That can open space for a genuine immigrant rights position. But we can't depend on the Democrats to follow through. The New York Times put its finger on an important connection between civil rights struggles past and present in an editorial in support of four immigrant students who were arrested for sitting in at Sen. John McCain's Arizona office: The fight for reform is stalled. It could be simple acts of protest that ignite a fire. Half a century ago, it was young people, at lunch counters and aboard buses across the South, who helped galvanize the movement for civil rights, and wakened more powerful elders to injustice.
One important lesson of the actions of those young people 50 years ago is that they weren't deterred by majority opinion. As SocialistWorker.org columnist Sharon Smith pointed out, national polls in the late 1950s showed overwhelming support for the most vile elements of Jim Crow segregation. By 1964 and 1965, majority views had turned around 180 degrees. "There is no doubt," Smith concludes, "that the civil rights movement challenged and ultimately changed prevailing opinion." Supporters of immigrant rights are finding that they, too, can make a difference by organizing and activism. The 50,000-plus people who turned out in Phoenix for the May 29 demonstration against SB 1070--not to mention other protests around the country--dwarfed the size of anti-immigrant events. The spirit on the demonstrations was defiant--and the actions marked the rejuvenation of a movement that emerged with the mass marches of 2006 that opposed anti-immigrant legislation on the federal level. Perhaps the racist right thought it could intimidate immigrants in Arizona and beyond with harsh new laws. But rather than cement "broad popularity," the attacks are provoking a vigorous response. Thus, when a Columbus, Ohio, radio station started promoting a contest to win a trip to Phoenix for "a weekend chasing aliens," it took all of 24 hours and a campaign of phone calls to force an apology out of the station. The next target, as the National Council of La Raza suggested, out to be Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, to get him to move the 2011 All-Star Game out of Phoenix. The coming months will be important ones for the movement, whether activism comes in the form of protests and marches, or boycott campaigns, or public forums in every part of the country, where people can hear the stories of immigrants themselves--and the lies of the bigots exposed. The Alto Arizona Web site that spearheaded the May 29 day of action against SB 1070 is promising a "Day of Non-Compliance" on July 29, when SB 1070 is scheduled to go into effect. And more besides: We will make this summer a Human Rights summer everywhere. Wherever the Diamondbacks play, protest. Wherever there are new police/ICE collaborations, push back. Wherever Arizona companies do business, boycott. Wherever there is injustice, we must shut it down.
The key to turning the tide against the anti-immigrant bigots is what our side does to counter the lies and stand up for justice.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 2:58 PM PDT
Oil Spill Cleanup - Here is a plan they wont use
Mood:
 not sure
Now Playing: Company Website has the technology to solve this
Topic: ENVIRONMENTAL
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 11:30 AM PDT
Sunday, 6 June 2010
Venezuela: The Imperfect Revolution (podcast and article
Mood:
 happy
Now Playing: Good Information -and- my opinion on the Venezuela Revolution
Topic: VENEZUELA SOLIDARITY
Right click on download link below - then choose "save target as" to save my podcast file to your hard drive- next open the mp3 podcast file with your choice of media players to listen to my tenth report click here to download PODCAST #10 On May 25th 2010 I read for my podcast #10 The article which is titled "Venezuela: The Imperfect Revolution" By Eva Golinger - (The Chavez Code) http://www.chavezcode.com/ The original article that was read for my podcast #10 was found at this link: http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/5384 (quote) If you come to Venezuela with glistening eyes, expecting to see the revolution of a romantic and passionate novel, don’t be disappointed when the complexities of reality burst your bubble. While revolution does withhold a sense of romanticism, it’s also full of human error and the grit of everyday life in a society – a nation – undertaking the difficult and tumultuous process of total transformation.
Nothing is perfect here, in the country sitting on the world’s largest oil reserves. But everything is fascinating and intriguing, and the changes from past to present become more visible and tangible every day. (end quote)
Hello to all who receive this introduction and following article from Joe Anybody (My letter to my friends and Z3 Report Readers) I wanted to point out a quick snap shot (of what reflects in my opinion) of what is going on in Venezuela. To me this stuff is very exciting and gives me hope, for a better world, for everyone. From what I have read and seen with my own eyes, I believe every word of this article. In fact when I was in Venezuela for ten days in 2009 I met the author and filmed her speaking to our small group at the Art Museum in Caracas. That video is posted in the video section under the title “All of our 2009 Videos are here” http://www.pdxvenezuela.org I encourage everyone who is reading this (By the way I sent this to my whole complete email address book which I rarely do) to go to the main website for this article ( www.venezuelanalysis.com ) and occasionally from time to time, read up on what is going on in Venezuela for social change. If you get your information from the US media it will be a LIE you need to be aware that the information presented to the mainstream press about Venezuela and Chavez is manipulated and untruthful. I still have video footage to edit from my trip last year to Caracas, I still have massive amount of articles to read about Chaves and Venezuela. And I am the first to admit "I know very little". In fact I know so little I assure you I know that I am no expert (by far). But daily I strive to learn more about this and try to comprehend ways of living in harmony outside of the realm I am constantly told to follow. The Bolivarian Revolution or "Socialism for the 21 Century" and the new model of “ALBA” are all exciting things coming out of South America. I urge you to read with an open mind and heart, the following article and other great informative articles on the web link that I attached from Venezuela Analysis. This information will blow you away, and if your receptive, it will open your eyes to possibilities of ”real hope and real change”. This information and the reality that is unfolding in Venezuela is in transformation and is happen now in this world, your world, our world ……. RIGHT NOW! With one last warning I will end this introduction to the article with my last concerns: · If your concerned about or worried about your own greed and the right to make unregulated profits. If you have concern for protecting capitalism and the ugly crooked way it rewards those you do “capitalize”. Or you are afraid of the word “socialism” and or cannot stand to even think about having to sacrifice for the betterment of the world at large, then you wont be interested in this article or the website. So if your protectionism of the corporate media in America and the wall street capitalism way we base our everyday survival and life styles on is fine with you, and if your US patriotism (nationalism) is firm and steadfast, you will have a hard time even reading this. For this is about social change for “everyone” who has a stake in “quality of life on this planet”. It is not so much about Venezuela as it is about life and social justice for all. We can learn by what is happening in Venezuela …or not. We can look to our US corporate media to tell us nothing at all about these changes or we can sit back and allow them to “continue to LIE” to us when we do seek information on Venezuela and socialism for the 21st century. Our government in lockstep with the corporate media spread disinformation with the intentions of discrediting real change and real hope.
Venezuela: The Imperfect Revolution By Eva Golinger - The Chavez Code, May 25th 2010 If you come to Venezuela with glistening eyes, expecting to see the revolution of a romantic and passionate novel, don’t be disappointed when the complexities of reality burst your bubble. While revolution does withhold a sense of romanticism, it’s also full of human error and the grit of everyday life in a society – a nation – undertaking the difficult and tumultuous process of total transformation.
Nothing is perfect here, in the country sitting on the world’s largest oil reserves. But everything is fascinating and intriguing, and the changes from past to present become more visible and tangible every day.
After 100 years of abandonment, as President Hugo Chavez puts it, the Venezuelan people have awoken and begun the gargantuan task of taking power and building a system of social and economic justice. But it’s easier said than done in a culture embedded with corrupt values, resulting from the nation’s vast oil wealth, combined with an overall feeling of entitlement. The bureaucracy is massive and often intimidating, as the people, including the President himself, struggle to erradicate it every day, and replace it with a more horizontal political and economic model.
From the outside, it’s easy to criticize Venezuela. Inflation is high, the economy is in a difficult place, although growing, and relations with countries such as Russia, China and Iran are often painful for foreigners to comprehend. Media portrays much of the power in the nation as concentrated in the hands of one man, Hugo Chavez, and rarely highlights the thousands of positive achievements and successes his government has obtained during the past ten years. Distortion and manipulation reign amongst international public opinion regarding human rights, freedom of expression and political views opposing those of President Chavez, and few media outlets portray a balanced vision of Venezuela today.
While it’s true that there is awful inflation in Venezuela, much of it has been caused by business owners, large-scale private distributors and producers, import-exporters and the economic elite that seek to destabilize and overthrow the Chavez administration. They sell dollars on the black market at pumped up rates and speculate and hike the prices of regular consumer products to provoke panic and desperation among the public, all with the goal of forcing Chavez’s ouster. And despite ongoing economic sabotage, the economy has still grown substantially in comparison to other nations in the region. In fact, according to the neoliberal International Monetary Fund (IMF), Venezuela is the only South American nation to forecast economic growth this year.
How do you build a socialist revolution in an oil economy? It’s not easy. The Chavez government promotes a green agenda, but at the same time, the streets of Caracas – the capital – are still littered with stinky garbage and the air is contaiminated with black smoke emissions from cars and make-shift buses that go uncontrolled and unregulated. Part of the problem is government regulation, but most of the problem is social consciousness. Revolution is impossible if the people aren’t on board.
So, the government gives out millions of free, cold-energy saving lightbulbs, to replace the over-consuming yellow ones, and programs are underway to allow a free trade-in of diesel consuming cars for new natural gas vehicles. The Chavez administration is funding solar energy exploration and research institutes, building wind energy units along the northern Caribbean coast and has implemented a major environmental conservation campaign nationwide. Part of this incredible effort resulted from a horrific six-month long drought that pushed the nation to energy and water rationing, causing countrywide blackouts that weren’t well received. Ironically, one of the world’s largest oil producers is more than 70% dependent on hydroelectric power for internal energy consumption, thanks to the governments past, which only were interested in selling the oil abroad and not using it to improve the lives of their own citizens.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
The foremost achievement of the Bolivarian Revolution, as it is called in Venezuela, taking the namesake of liberator Simon Bolivar, has been the inclusion of a mass majority, previously excluded and invisible, in the nation’s politics and economic decisions. What does this mean? It means that today, millions of Venezuelans have a visible identity and role in nation-making. It means that community members – without regard to class, education or status – are actively encouraged to participate in policy decisions on local and even national matters. Community members, organized in councils, make decisions on how local resources are allocated. They decide if monies are spent on schools, roads, water systems, transportation or housing. They have oversight of spending, can determine if projects are advancing adequately, and even can determine where the workforce should come from; i.e. local workers vs. outside contractors. In essence, this is a true example of an empowered people – or how power is transferred from a “government” to the people.
For the first time in Venezuela’s history, every voice is valued, every voice has the possibility of being heard. And because of this, people actually want to participate. Community media outlets have sprung up by the hundreds, after previously being illegal and shunned by prior governments. New newspapers, magazines, radio programs and even television shows reflect a reality and color of Venezuela that formerly, the elite chose to ignore and exclude. Still, a majority of mass media remains in the hands of a powerful economic elite that uses its capacity to distort and manipulate reality and promote ongoing attempts to undermine the Chavez government. Lest we not forget the mass media’s role in the April 2002 coup d’etat that briefly ousted President Chavez from power, and a subsequent economic sabotage in December of that same year, that imposed a media blackout on information nationwide.
Despite claims by private media outlets alleging violations of freedom of expression, Venezuela remains a nation with one of the world’s most thriving free and independent press. Here, almost anything goes, even plots and plans to kill the President or bring the nation’s economy to its knees; all broadcast live on television, radio, or in print.
The contradictions of building a socialist revolution in a capitalist world are evident here every day. The same self-proclaimed revolutionary, bearing a red shirt, wants to buy your dollars on the black market at an elevated rate. You can get killed in the streets of Caracas for a Blackberry; don’t even think of whipping out an iPhone in public. Even President Chavez himself now fashions a Blackberry to keep his Twitter account up to date. Chavez has “politicized” Twitter, and turned it into a social tool. His account, the most followed in Venezuela, receives thousands of requests and messages daily for everything from jobs, to housing to complaints about bureaucracy and inefficient governance. He even set up a special team of 200 people dedicated to processing the tweets, and he himself responds to as many as he can. Ironically, Chavez has found a way to reconnect with his people in a virtual world.
Deals with Russia, China, Iran, India, European nations and even US corporations are diversifying Venezuela’s trade partners, ensuring technological transfer to aid in national development and progress, and opening up Venezuela’s oil-focused economy. Some question Chavez’s deals with certain countries or companies, but the truth is, today, Venezuela’s economy is stronger and more diverse than ever before. Satellites have been launched, automobile factories built and even the agricultural industry has been revived thanks to Chavez’s vision of foreign policy. When beforehand, relations with foreign nations were based on oil supply and dollar input, today they are founded on the principles of integration, solidarity and cooperation, and most importantly, the transfer of technology to ensure Venezuela’s development.
Revolution is not an easy task. What is happening in Venezuela is possibly one of the most socially and politically compelling and challenging experiences in history. Massive changes are taking place on every level of society – economic, political, cultural and social – and everyone is involved. There have been no national curfews, states of emergencies, killings, disappearances, persecutions, political prisoners or other forms of repression imposed under Chavez’s reign, despite the coup d’etat, economic sabotages, electoral interventions, assassination attempts and other forms of subversion and destabilization that have attempted to overthrow his government during the past ten years. This is an inclusionary revolution, whether or not everyone wants to accept that fact.
Washington’s continued efforts to undermine Venezuela’s democracy through funding opposition campaigns and actions with over $50 million USD during the past seven years, or supporting coups and assassination plots against President Chavez, while at the same time pumping up military forces in the region, have all failed; so far. But, they will continue. Venezuela – like it or not – is on an irrevocable path to revolution. The people have awoken and power is being redistributed. The task at hand now is to prevent corrupt forces within from destroying the new revolutionary model being built.
So while things may not be perfect in Venezuela, it’s time to take off the rose-colored glasses and see revolution for what it is: the trying, alluring, arduous, demanding and thrilling task of forging a just humanity. That’s the Venezuela of today.
Eva Golinger is an award-winning author and attorney. Her first book, The Chavez Code, is a best seller published in six languages and is presently being made into a feature film. Her blog is www.chavezcode.com. http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/5384 Joe Anybody Podcasts are all archived here
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 3:26 PM PDT
Updated: Sunday, 6 June 2010 3:44 PM PDT
This is the best news in a long time
Mood:
 celebratory
Now Playing: My website expands
Topic: MEDIA
Hellow Z3 Report Readers, I now own the web domain name www.joeanybody.com (no dash between 'joe' and 'anybody') So that means you can now access my website from www.joe-anybody.com and www.joeanybody.com 
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 2:50 PM PDT
Thursday, 27 May 2010
joke or not
Mood:
 mischievious
Now Playing: Hmmmmmm (Im in the progressive party myself)
Topic: SMILE SMILE SMILE
A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him,"Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above ground elevation of 2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude."She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be an Obama Democrat.""I am,"replied the man. "How did you know?""Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Republican.""I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?""Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault. "
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 9:04 PM PDT
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Police Killings in Haiti's Prison in Les Cayes
Mood:
 crushed out
Now Playing: Les Cayes prison riots and the (government) cover up
Topic: HUMANITY
May 25, 2010 Slaughter in Les Cayeshttp://tinyurl.com/2456bpj Even by the grim standards of Haiti, the prison massacre in Les Cayes after the Jan. 12 earthquake is chilling. According to an investigation in The Times by Deborah Sontag and Walt Bogdanich, a dozen or more prisoners were killed and up to 40 were wounded after police stormed the prison to put down a riot. The government claims that a prison ringleader slaughtered other inmates before escaping. The Times found witnesses who told a different story — of days of abuse after the earthquake and then the murder of inmates by police. Many of Haiti’s prisons were shattered during the quake, allowing inmates to flee. In Les Cayes, in western Haiti, the walls held. When prisoners panicked, guards beat the noisiest men, shoving them into cells that were already brutally crowded. A week later, a few dozen men tried to escape and set off a riot. Inmates rampaged loose for hours inside as the Haitian federal police and United Nations troops surrounded the prison. When the police stormed the prison, witnesses said, they shot defenseless victims at close range. Some prisoners seemed to have been singled out for execution. Others were shot indiscriminately. A Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Marc Boisvert, who entered the prison while it was “still smoldering,” said inmates told him that prisoners trying to surrender were shot through the bars of their locked cells. Bodies were buried in a mass, unmarked grave. The survivors’ blood stained clothes were burned. The Haitian government says it is investigating, but The Times found no indication that witnesses had been interviewed, bodies exhumed or even basic evidence collected. The United Nations mission in Haiti has ordered an independent inquiry. The earthquake, and the huge commitment of international aid, are supposed to be a chance to finally create a Haitian government that is respectful of all its citizens’ rights. The United Nations and the international community — particularly the United States — have enormous leverage and a parallel responsibility to help Haiti create a credible judicial system. Reforming the country’s nightmarish prisons, filled with detainees who have not yet been tried, is an essential part of that. It would be best if Haiti’s government could conduct a full and transparent investigation. That appears unlikely. President René Préval must ensure that the United Nations’ investigators have access to all forensic evidence, witnesses, police officers and prison officials. The government also must be prepared to prosecute anyone implicated in the attacks. The first step to building a new Haiti is figuring out what really happened at Les Cayes, and ensuring that it never happens again.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 12:01 AM PDT
Monday, 24 May 2010
Drug lord in Jamica shootouts wiith police and his US extradition
Mood:
 chatty
Now Playing: Dudas Coke - an interesting person - Now the USA is about tto get him
Topic: BIG MONEY PLAYERS
Gunmen clash with Kingston police in bid to halt extradition of ‘drug lord’By James Bone From The Times May 25, 2010 Helicopter gunships buzzed over the Jamaican capital last night as police and soldiers clashed for a second day with masked gunmen seeking to prevent the extradition of an alleged drug baron to the United States. The gunmen attacked Kingston’s central police station as authorities struggled to enforce a state of emergency imposed on Sunday after an uprising by supporters of Christopher “Dudus” Coke, who is accused of running an international drug gang called the Shower Posse. He is wanted for alleged arms and drug trafficking in the United States. (to read more click on link) http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7135564.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=3392178
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 6:51 PM PDT
Updated: Monday, 24 May 2010 7:00 PM PDT
Thursday, 20 May 2010
No Blackwater No Contractors being given free rein in Iraq
Mood:
 irritated
Now Playing: Stop Military Industrial spending / policy abuse and crooked contarctor no bid projects
Topic: WAR
Blackwater is just the tip of the iceberg President Bush opened the floodgates for outsourcing government jobs, and we're still reeling from the effects.Blackwater (now known as Xe), Halliburton, DynCorp, KBR, and Triple Canopy are just some of the multitude of private, for-profit corporations that became integral parts of the American war machine during the simultaneous Iraq and Afghanistan wars. There is already legislation that has been introduced to tackle some of this problem. The Stop Outsourcing Security Act would prohibit the American government from using mercenaries to fight our wars.But military contractors are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to reckless government outsourcing. 
We have an opportunity to change direction. The Obama administration is seeking public comments on the definition of "inherently governmental" functions, which sets the parameters government-wide for what can and cannot be outsourced.Submit a public comment to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy.
It's vital that we speak out to make sure the federal government steps back from the Bush-era practice of dismantling our government and giving free rein to Blackwater and companies like it.The role of Blackwater in Iraq and Afghanistan offers a clear picture of the rot that infects our government when we outsource important functions to private entities that only care about their own bottom lines.When we use private contractors, we sacrifice even the insufficient transparency and accountability we have over our military. Meanwhile, our reliance on greedy and shameless entities magnifies both the human and monetary cost of war. In 2007, Erik Prince, the former head of Blackwater, testified before Congress that over 90 percent of Blackwater's contracts were with the federal government (and publicly available data shows over 2/3 of those government contracts were awarded as no-bid contracts).Weeks before Prince's testimony, Blackwater mercenaries needlessly slaughtered 17 civilians in Nisour Square in Baghdad while guarding American State Department officials. Despite massive and widespread outrage in Iraq and elsewhere, the State Department still has a contract with Blackwater to provide protection for its personnel. There's no justifiable reason why our government ought to outsource the decision to pull the trigger and take another life in our name. And what's true for shooting a gun and taking a life is also true for a whole host of broad areas where our of government should act directly, not through a company looking to squeeze a buck out of the process. Speak out and submit a public comment about the definition of "inherently governmental" functions. This issue is, of course, about more than Blackwater, and it's about more than military contractors. The lack of clarity about what can and cannot be outsourced and the willingness of the American government to outsource as much as possible has allowed the role of federal contractors to metastasize and transform in horrific ways.It's even gotten to the point that we cannot adequately oversee contracts and have contractors evaluating the performance of other contractors on behalf of the American government. We can no longer allow the government to abdicate responsibility of core government functions based upon the unfounded hope that the profit motive will somehow ensure everything will turn out okay.We need to speak out. There are some things that only the government should do. This outsourcing craze needs to come to an end. Submit your public comment about "inherently governmental" functions today! ==================================== Letter below: I am very concerned about the outsourcing of government jobs to private contractors. I think the proposed OFPP policy letter should reflect a definition of "inherently governmental" that specifically incorporates all "critical" and "closely associated with inherently governmental" functions, and should explicitly reject the notion that a federal agency should presume to outsource any function not reserved for federal employees. I am especially, although not exclusively, concerned with the use of private security contracts. As we have seen with the reliance on private military contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq, the performance of mission critical security functions by profit-driven contractors is at a minimum counterproductive and can be immoral and criminal. OFPP, through its proposed policy letter, should add to its list of inherently governmental functions the following physical security activities: guard services, convoy security services, pass and identification services, plant protection services, the operation of prison or detention facilities, and any security operations that might reasonably require the use of deadly force. Additionally, the proposed OFPP policy letter should specifically exclude contractors from performing the following: support of intelligence activities (including covert operations), interrogation, military and police training, and the repair and maintenance of weapon systems. Given the resistance of contractors to effective oversight, and the costs and controversies associated with the contracting out of these functions, the government must in-source these services to provide the proper oversight and accountability. Therefore, the list of "inherently governmental" functions ought to include these activities explicitly. I furthermore urge that OFPP incorporate the new definition and compliance guidance into the Federal Acquisition Regulation. To send your own letter click here: http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/inherently_gov/?r=5569&id=9248-191083-K3el2tx ==============================================
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 10:08 AM PDT
Updated: Thursday, 20 May 2010 10:11 AM PDT
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Wiskey & Gunpowder article
Mood:
 loud
Now Playing: something happened to the economy - did you notice - well wiskey & gunpowder did
Topic: FAILURE by the GOVERNMENT
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 11:35 AM PDT
Updated: Tuesday, 18 May 2010 11:39 AM PDT
Monday, 17 May 2010
Israeli Defense Force, Col. Bentzion Gruber - Denver University 5.11
Mood:
loud
Now Playing: Israel Uses Senior Military Officers to Justify Killing
Topic: HUMANITY
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Israel Uses Senior Military Officers to Justify Killing
Charles E. Carlson May 16, 2010
An event at Denver University on May 11, 2010---
I was fortunate to attend a speech Tuesday by a senior military officer of the Israeli Defense Force, Col. Bentzion Gruber, speaking at Denver University on May 11, about the "morality and restraint" of the IDF in dealing with their "terrorist" neighbors... fortunate because this is the first time I have seen an Israeli propagandist lambasted for lying to his audience. Col. Gruber looked like he had been run over by his own bulldozers when a few knowledgeable members of the audience refused to sit quietly and have their intelligence insulted.
The meeting was sponsored by the Institute for Study of Israel in Middle East and the DU chapter of Hillel, a Jewish fraternity on campus. Gruber's lecture was called, "The Most Rigorous Military Code of Ethics in the World." Gruber is a Deputy Commander of the Reserve Division that served in Operation Cast Lead, the Christmas 2008 one month massacre in Gaza, which has, in fact, been followed by a blockade. He is now a reserve officer, but he also served during the Second Intifada (1998-02) during which Israeli forces killed 4789 Palestinians.
Gruber was interrupted constantly by individuals one-by- one who constantly challenged his facts. The resistance resulted from the efforts of eight to ten people who called a Mother's day strategy meeting in a Denver park. They know the only way to refute Gruber was not to allow one lie to pass unchallenged. It worked.
Gruber became unnerved and struggled unsuccessfully to finish his speech, limping through his allotted time with the aid of police, who ushered out one by one those who spoke clearly from the floor. Later Gruber was to be roundly challenged by his general audience, including a professor and some of the students, during a Q & A period. Most attacked Gruber's facts and his country's credibility.
Angered, the flustered Colonel stated, "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims," causing shouts from the stunned audience to bring the meeting to a temporary halt. Gruber was forced to apologize, but he stuck to his guns in referring to every Palestinian who resists Israel as a "terrorist."
Gruber's lecture made the same points that are made in every Israeli propaganda speech: Israel is the victim, not the aggressor. For evidence, the Colonel cited suicide bombers, rockets and missiles, and the evil Hamas hiding behind civilians. He used an IDF propaganda film to attempt to show how careful Israel is to avoid killing civilians. The film contained obviously misleading statements about the Gazans and Hamas, including alleging Gazans used over three thousand "rockets" and "mortars" against Israelis.
His challengers cited the now famous Goldstone Report, which states otherwise. He was told the Gazans have no missiles, their rockets are the homemade kind that don't explode, and only four Israelis were killed by rocket fire in all the history of it. Mortar rounds are so scarce they are rarely used on rural Israel that surrounds Gaza, and are saved to fight off invasions.
The IDF also showed footage of a human bomber attacking a bus that he insisted was carrying women and children. But the movie was clearly faked, with dubbed in gunfire much too loud for the long range and grainy film. A questionable close-up of the grinning "suicide bomber" was offered to prove how happy Palestinian terrorists are just before they blow themselves up. Gruber was asked why he did not tell the audience that Palestinian's homemade rockets do not explode and that Israeli buses carry on-duty military and are therefore military targets. The audience of students did not buy the film once some of Gruber's misstatements were exposed.
Some challenged Gruber and the IDF film on its claims of humanitarian restraint in battle by citing the Goldstone Report, which documented the massacre 16 months ago. The Colonel's response was that Goldstone was "full of lies," and Israel "never used white phosphorus bombs."
He ended his much contested speech by reciting a sad but irrelevant story of his family being "holocaust" survivors sixty years ago and one of his family members being raped by a German, springing from this to the defense of Israel with no explanation as to what this had to do with the IDF's slaughter of the Gazans. The final questioner asked why he did this, and Gruber did not say how the Palestinians were involved in Germany's acts sixty years ago.
We in the United States are increasingly subjected to the influence of military personal on our payroll, used by politicians to tell us why this war or that war is needed. A generation ago it was a violation of the military code. General Douglas Mac Arthur, American five-star hero of World War II, was fired and ousted from the military for making statements about the Korean War.
Today it is commonplace for retired and even active duty officers to give interviews and public statements about the progress of the war, apparently deemed necessary by our political leaders to support the war effort. A recent example is found in a story by retired General Paul Vallaly whose claims go beyond fantasy.
Vallaly is listed in Wikipedia as a senior military analyst for Fox News. He claims tiny Lebanon has "50-60,000 missiles and rockets" hidden in houses and orchards aimed at Israel, that Iran already has nuclear bombs and is getting ready to mount them on "Scud" missiles from Russia, and that surrounding Islamic countries are planning a chemical attack on Israel. This war propagandist general repeatedly suggests he has privileged information. His final words: "We cannot allow Israel to stand alone in this." Endnote 1.
Israel, not unlike the USA, uses their military, like Colonel Gruber, to sell the false idea that it is the victim, and is a humane, surgically clean eliminator of "terrorists". The response at Denver University was an encouraging surprise and another sign of a "turning" in our time that is finally beginning to happen in the minds of those who think about what they are being told, especially students.
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1.) "General (Vallaly) Warns of Chemical Attacks against Israel" <http://www.pjtv.com/v/3505>http://www.pjtv.com/v/3505
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 6:00 AM PDT
Updated: Tuesday, 18 May 2010 11:41 AM PDT
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